Happy Mother's Day to all the Mother's! I hope you enjoy your special day today! Thank you so much for all the love so far! Don't worry, Tris and Tobias will find each other again, I couldn't make it that easy for them. Happy reading and let me know what you think! Love y'all.
Uriah flops back on the bed after dropping an empty moving box in his room to the growing pile. It felt strange to be back in his childhood bedroom but he was glad to be home. He wasn't sure how long he was going to stay with his mother but was going to enjoy it while he could. He knew she was excited to have someone to hover over and cook for again. Even though his brother Zeke still lived in Chicago, and he and his son were over several days during the week, it wasn't the same as having her boys under the same roof.
"Did you get enough to eat, Baby?" Hana asks. She thought he was looking a little thin. She knew he hadn't been eating right while he was away. Even though he was 30, she still worried about him.
"Yeah Ma, that would be great, I missed your cooking" Uriah knows he is definitely going to need to stay committed to his gym routine. He knew Hana was going to cook all his favorite foods now that he was home and her Mississippi roots would have him plumped up on cornbread and fried chicken before he knew it.
Hana smiles as she leans against the doorway. Her baby boy had been away for so long. He hadn't been home since Christmas, and even though they spoke every Sunday, it was nothing like being able to see him every day.
She worried about him, but she reminded herself not to hover too much. She had known that Zeke was going to be a firefighter, he was so much like his father. Uriah surprised her though with his choice to become a doctor but at the end of the day she just wanted her boys to be happy.
"I'm happy you're here with me, even if it's only for a little while"
"I know, I'm glad I'm home too and I won't be too far away even if I move out. I went way too long without your cooking to not come to see you all the time"
Hana smiles again as he heads back down the hallway to the kitchen.
After spending 4 years in the Army as a medic, Uriah opted to go to medical school instead of re-enlisting. His family had been shocked but supportive. He could tell his mother was relieved. She was so proud of him when he was accepted to Meharry, one of the only three HBCU medical schools. But after being gone for the past 12 years, after his years in the Army followed by 4 years of school at Florida AM University and then another 4 years of medical school, he decided to apply for his residency in Chicago. Thankfully he matched at Chicago Med. It would allow him to be with his family again. He had barely seen his nephew Dallas since he had been born and he didn't want to miss out on anymore.
He looked around his room. So much had changed since he left for basic training 12 years ago. He'd seen things, so many things while deployed in Afghanistan. Medicine was his true calling; he knew that, he just hoped he would be able to prove himself.
He looked at the clock on his nightstand, it was just 7:30. Zeke had told him to come by the bar that evening. He looks down at his outfit and decides it's good enough to hang out in for a few hours. He heads down the stairs and hears his mother in the kitchen washing dishes.
"Hey Ma, I'm going to go see Zeke at the bar!" he yells as he grabs his keys.
"Have fun" Hana yells back with a smile.
Christina fixes her hair and applies a slick clear lipgloss in the mirror of the bathroom at Dauntless. Her student loans from medical school had been eating into her savings. She was looking into forgiveness programs but until that could come through she had looked for a part-time job to help cover the costs.
The month before, Zeke had been stressing about one of the bartenders at Dauntless leaving and Christina sold herself as a replacement. The past month had been a lifesaver, her tips were giving her a little breathing room with her spending money.
It had been three months since Tris' visit to Chicago. Tris was still maintaining that she was fine and she wasn't thinking about her mystery man but it had actually inspired Christina.
Christina had known she wanted to be a doctor since she was a little girl. When she received her undergraduate scholarship to Depaul it was the best thing but she kept her head down and studied. Tris would come visit when she could, and Christina would spend her breaks with Natalie and Tris in Atlanta. They were proud when she got accepted to Northwestern for Medical School and Christina put her nose in her books. She pushed herself so hard. She hadn't been prepared for how competitive things were, it didn't leave her much time for romance.
Sure she had hookups, but she still hadn't had that epic love story yet. Hearing Tris talk about her night with her mystery man made her realize just how much she longed to have that connection with someone and be in a relationship. Now that she was settled at 51, it seemed like the right time to put herself out there.
Christina heads back out to the front, It was Thursday so the crowd wasn't as heavy as it was on the weekends.
"Dawson, I'll be in the back, the delivery guy is here and it looks like he messed up an order sheet. It might take a few to short out" Zeke tells Christina when he gets back behind the bar.
"Cool, I can handle this, it's not too busy"
"Just give me a shout if you get slammed"
She fixes a few beers, there was a crew from Firehouse 20 there hanging out. She loved how the Chicago Fire Department, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med staff had adopted Dauntless as their go to hang out place after shift. She expected a few from 51 to come in at some point since today was one of their off days.
She spies a handsome guy come in and sit at the bar that wasn't there when she went to the bathroom.
"What can I get for you?" She asks, setting out a napkin in front of him. Christina takes a closer look and he is more than just handsome, with his honey-colored skin, dark wavy hair, and a perfect smile. Good Lord.
He looks up at her and is a bit shocked at how pretty she is.
"Hey, what's good on the menu here?" He flashes a smile. This woman was definitely someone he wouldn't mind getting to know.
"Well, I happen to make one of the best old fashions in all of Chicago" Christina boasts.
"Then that's what I'm having"
Christina shoots him another smile but she feels her cheeks heat up like she was blushing as she turns to grab all the ingredients she needs to mix his drink.
Why is it so hot all of a sudden?
She braces her arms on the bar after she sets the drink in front of him waiting for him to taste it.
He takes a sip, smiling as he does and his face immediately indicates he is surprised and he takes another sip pleasantly surprised. Christina straightens up, pleased with his reaction.
Another customer comes over for another drink and Uriah watches her while she rings them up and makes the order.
"I feel like I should know your name, so I can spread the word about the bartender at Dauntless who makes the best old fashioned in Chicago"
"Christina" She holds out her hand.
"Uriah" she feels her knees might go weak when he smiles at her again and softly shakes her hand.
"Well look who's back in town! And of course, the first thing you do is come in a flirt with the prettiest woman in the whole place" Shauna says loudly, causing Christina to jump as she is startled out of her trance as Shauna and Tobias walk up to the bar on either side of Uriah.
Christina furrows her eyebrows and then it dawns on her who was sitting in front of her. Uriah, Zeke's brother.
"Shut up Preston" Christina chuckles. Uriah gets up to give Shauna a tight hug and then Tobias.
"Man, it's good to see you, Uri. I don't know who's been gushing more about you, Pedrad or Ms. Hana" Tobias says with a laugh.
"It's definitely been Zeke" Shauna adds as Uriah gives a good belly laugh.
Christina grabs both of them their usual beer order while they catch up. Zeke talked about his brother who was in medical school often. Christina could tell how close they were and how excited he was for him to be moving back to Chicago.
Uriah watches Christina as she goes to take care of some more customers at the end of the bar. He and his girlfriend Mia had broken up about a year ago. They were together for two years, she was great, nice, and charming, but with her in law school and him in medical school, it was difficult for them to make time for each other. He was fine with it, they worked well together and people had always painted them as the relationship goals, power couple around campus but he had felt like something was missing.
With all the hoopla around his graduation from Meharry and waiting to find out if he was going to get a residency spot and then moving, he hadn't thought about dating. He needed to get settled and get his feet underneath him at Chicago Med. His schedule was going to be tough and he shouldn't be thinking about dating right now but Christina was definitely on his radar now.
Zeke hops off the fire truck when it pulls back onto the apparatus floor of the Firehouse. He pulls off his turnout jacket and hangs it on the truck door and steps out of his turn-out pants and fire boots and back into his uniform boots that are left outside of the truck when they take off for a call.
"How was the call?" Max asks as walks over to talk to Zeke.
"Not too tough, Car accident, everyone made it out alive, Preston and Dawson took them to Med for treatment."
"Good, have you started looking through the pool of applicants for McHolland's replacement? I know we can get a new candidate to train or a floater in but I'd really like you to get a permanent replacement before we bring on a candidate"
"Yeah Chief, I have and honestly I haven't been impressed with what I've seen in the floater pool yet. I heard that there's probably going to be a wait on a candidate since there have been some shortages around the district."
Max sighs, Pedread was a good Lieutenant and excellent at evaluating talent, so he trusted his instincts. He makes a mental note to check in with Deputy District Chief Williams about the shortages and quality floaters available to see what could be done.
Just then Ambulance 61 pulls back in from their drop at the hospital. Shauna and Christina get out and look to head to the common room and something registers in his head that Christina said a few nights ago while they were working the bar together at Dauntless.
"I think I may have an idea, let's head to your office"
"Hey, Dawson" Zeke calls as he motions for Christina to follow him and Max into the chief's office as she comes around the apparatus floor from hopping out of the Rigg.
"What's up Chief?" Christina asks. She didn't think she was in trouble, she kept her head down for the most part and did her work. Shauna was feisty and sometimes got into trouble with how she handled things on a few calls but things had been relatively quiet the past few weeks.
"You know McHolland is retiring at the end of next month. Didn't you tell me your best friend is a firefighter and looking at moving to Chicago?" Zeke asks.
Max raises his eyebrows interested in where the conversation was going.
"Yes and she is amazing, she would fit in at 51 so well, and she also worked as an EMT before she went through the fire academy in Atlanta," Christina tells them excitedly.
She had still been poking at Tris to put her application in with the Chicago Fire Department but maybe knowing that she could move straight into 51 would be the cherry on top for her fully committing to the idea of moving.
Max leans back in his chair, chemistry among the team was just as important as a firefighter's skill. He'd seen too many houses disrupted because of bad chemistry. Dawson was a good paramedic and was well-liked around the house, if that was an indication of her friend, he could see how she would fit in right away.
"That would be nice to have an extra set of hands with full EMT training and experience…" Zeke reasons, liking the idea even more now. He would much rather have a seasoned firefighter than have to train a candidate right now.
"Are you sure she would be willing to move to Chicago? Atlanta is a pretty busy city but I'm sure it's still not what we experience here during a shift," Max says, trying to see if he should let Pedrad explore more.
"She's tough and a hard worker, she was born here and her brother and father live here as well so she knows what she would be dealing with in Chicago"
"That's good she has family here" Max contemplates out loud as he leans back in his chair and twirls his pen in his fingers.
"Can you set up a time for us to video chat?" Zeke asks knowing where Max was going with his thinking.
"Sure, not a problem I'm telling you, you're going to love her, she was here for a week this summer and I'd hoped I would get to bring her here to meet everyone but we never got around to it," Christina promises as she pulls her phone out her back pocket excitedly to text Tris.
"Hola mi gente! " Tris calls as she enters the back door of her mother's home.
She had just gotten off shift and wanted to stop by to see if her mother needed any help at the office. Some days she just enjoyed being able to sit and have breakfast with her mother.
"Tris, como estas?" Ramon calls from the kitchen table as he reads the morning news on his Ipad.
"Estoy bien, Did Mami make breakfast?"
"Leftovers are on the stove, she had a call from a client so she's in the study," He chuckles.
He never had any children of his own but he had come to love Tris and Caleb and was happy that they felt like their home was still theirs after he married Natalie.
Tris fixes herself a plate of Dominican sausage and mashed yuca and sits down next to Ramon. She gets a little sad when she sees the moving boxes in the corner. She was going to miss mornings like this with them. Ramon had to be in Santo Domingo the following month and Natalie was coming a month after him and they had already found a renter for their house since Tris felt like it was too much space for just her.
"Oye, ¿crees que me podrías ayudar a ver algunas opciones sobre dónde poner mi dinero de jubilación si dejo la AFD? Tengo una buena parte ahorrada en el plan de jubilación y quiero ser inteligente con mis inversiones. (Hey, You think you could help me look at some options for where to put my retirement money if I leave the AFD? I have a good chunk saved in the retirement plan and I want to be smart about my investments)" Tris asks.
Roman was great at finance and money management. Tris and Caleb had learned a lot from him over the years. Ramon puts down his Ipad and looks at his stepdaughter sensing something was on her mind.
"Of course, Mija, ¿Estás pensando en cambiar de trabajo? Pensé que te encantaba ser bombero (Are you thinking about changing jobs? I thought you loved being a firefighter?)"
Ramon understood how complicated the relationship between Tris and Andrew was. It didn't take him long to see how much she craved a relationship with her father. He had no idea how Andrew Prior could not want to be involved with his children.
He never pressed but slowly she started to warm up to him. The first time she came to him and asked him to help her pick out a new car, he felt that fatherly pride for the first time.
"I do, I just have been thinking now that you and Mami are moving to Santo Domingo, do I want to stay here when Caleb and Christina are in Chicago…"
It had been seven months since her trip to Chicago and she still wasn't sure if she wanted to move or not.
"Ahhhh, I see" Roman smiles and gives her a pat on the arm. "Go where your heart tells you, Mija"
Tris smiles at how perceptive Ramon was. He wasn't one for many words but he always knew the right thing to say.
Just then Natalie comes downstairs as Roman tells her he has to get going to the office.
"Buenos días cariño" Natalie greets as she kisses the top of Tris' head before kissing Roman goodbye as he heads out the door and then goes to grab her coffee cup before joining Tris.
"Qué tienes en mente? (What's on your mind)?" Natalie asks noticing Tris was pushing her food around on her plate.
"Caleb and Christina have been trying to convince me to move to Chicago now that you and Ramon are moving."
"Ahhhh, tu hermano dijo que le preocupa que te quedes aquí solo (your brother said he's been worried about you staying here alone)"
Tris smiles, that was so like Caleb, no matter how old they got, he took his position as her big brother very seriously. She knew he was always going to look out for her.
"¿A qué le temes? (What are you afraid of?)" Natalie asks her daughter.
Tris takes a deep breath through her nose before she answers.
"How do I know this is the right decision? I don't know if it's really what I want for myself,"
"Beatrice, my love, you can't keep fighting things that your father wanted for you or because you're scared. Despite how you feel about him, you and your father are very much alike. Both driven and headstrong. I hope one day you will learn to let go of what he did to us"
Tris wipes a tear away from her face. Only her mother could read that deeply into her.
"Is that what you did? Let it go, after everything he put you through?"
"Yes, Mija, I had to. I couldn't hold all that hate in my heart and when I let it go that's when I started my business and I met Ramon"
Tris smiles as she continues to let her tears fall. Her mother was the strongest person she knew. How she could be so full of love and forgiveness with everything they had gone through, Tris would never understand.
"Is this about Nita too? Is that why you don't want to leave?"
Tris throws her head back in a groan. Her mother had been so supportive through all her ups and downs when she and Nita were together. Tris had been so nervous about telling Natalie and Aunt Edith that she was bisexual, especially when Nita's parents reacted so badly but they hugged her and gave her all the support she needed.
"Conocí a un chico cuando fui de visita este verano (I met a guy when I went to visit this summer)." Tris smiles, It was strange how she still felt butterflies in her belly when she thought about Tobias.
"Bueno, cuéntame sobre él. ¿No lo has vuelto a ver? ¿Crees que todavía estás enamorado de Nita? (Well tell me about him. You haven't seen him again? Do you think you are still in love with Nita?)" Natalie asks excitedly. She had been hoping that both her children would find someone special and settle down soon but she tried not to worry and push too much.
"No, I told him we couldn't make it work long distance. I haven't talked to Nita in a long time. I just don't want to make the same mistake I did before, making decisions because I was following someone"
Natalie gets up and sits in the chair next to Tris and pulls her into a hug. They sit there for a moment. Tris was going to miss this, the quiet moments with her mother. She always knew what was wrong and knew just what to say to comfort her.
"Beatrice,No pienses demasiado en todo, sigue tu corazón (don't overthink everything, follow your heart)"
"That's what Ramon said earlier" she laughs, pulling away and wiping her tears away.
"Mira por qué me casé con él (See why I married him)," Natalie laughs.
Tris feels silly now for how she hadn't even given Tobias a chance, that she was running from allowing herself to be happy but she knew she needed to make this choice for herself and herself alone. For the first time since the summer, Tris feels like moving to Chicago is the right move.
Tris sits, adjusts her laptop, and fluffs her curls one final time before clicking on the join meeting button for her Zoom call. She was a little nervous but she took one last final deep breath and put on a smile.
She sent her information to the Chicago Fire Department as a transfer application when Christina told her that there was real interest in her being brought on to Firehouse 51. She had been surprised that she had received an email from Chief Max Boden asking for an interview so quickly.
"Beatrice, Good to see you" Max booms.
Tris notices his white shirt with the pins of three golden bugles crossed on the ends of the collar signifying his status as Battalion Chief.
"Chief Boden, nice to officially meet you. Christina has told me how much she appreciates the leadership you bring to Firehouse 51. "
"Well I can already see how charismatic you are, Prior, that's definitely a good trait to have at this house"
Tris chuckles as she smiles back at the screen. She didn't want to overdo it but she still wanted to make a good impression.
"Beatrice, this is Lieutenant Zeke Pedrad, he's the officer on Truck 81"
Tris gives him a smile, as well. He looked a little familiar to her but she had no idea why.
They talk for almost an hour all about Tris and her experiences on Truck in Atlanta, how she would respond to certain calls, and her EMT experience. The more they chatted, the more Tris felt confident that they wanted her for the position.
"Well, Prior, I think I only have one more question for you," Max asks.
Tris shifts in her seat prepared to listen so she can give the best answer.
"When can you start?"
